yeah guys good stuff. Fazza, you are right on. The Hellrazor II moves foam under foot, closer to the center line, more like what Michel rides and actually was kind of the request of pros riding it. it rides similarly and in generally the same conditions, it just feels like the foam is a little more where you want it to be which allows a smoother experience in an out of maneuvers. That said, i love my original hellrazor...

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hey boys thanks for the epic responses, appreciate it. just one more spanner to throw in the works, am looking at a v4 as well, do you think the hr2 or v4 will be better for everyday waves?
wish i had the coin i would get both! i surf beachies normally, with the occasional reef session. cheers

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What is "everyday waves" for you? The wave has to have some push for either board to work properly, but because the HZII is more of a standard short board shape, I'd reckon it'd work better on a daily basis.

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i would want to be surfing with this board when the waves are 3-4 ft plus, so there would definitely be some force behind the waves. i have a mate with a vangaurd do you think this would give me a similar feel as a v4, or are they completely different in the way they ride? would like the board to work even when the surf could be onshore, and have a bit of water moving around

hey daco,
The Hellrazor is a bit different than the V4. Think if the hellrazor as your performance shortboard with a traditional ride. The V4 has a wider tail, a straighter rail profile through the back half of the board and a wider tail. You are also probably riding the V4 2-3 inches shorter than the hellrazor so would draw a slightly shorter arc. They are both super sick boards but they do have pretty tangible differences in the way they ride.

I have a 6'5 HZ and a 6'0 V4 and the difference is very noticeable. The V4 turns very tight quick arcs while the HZ is more of a fast down the line board. Because I'm bigger I like the extra width to keep me moving through dead sections. The best surfs I've had on my HZ are very fast down the line barrels where you weren't really trying to do short quick tight arcs anyway. It still turns and snaps off the top nicely but not like the V4. Though I'm still not sure I have the right fin combination for the HZ, as a quad it's "bullshit fast" but seems a bit stiff and seems to turn better as a thruster and while fast, isn't "bullshit fast" LOL.

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First surf on the 6'1 HZ2 this morning 3-4ft beachie some nice lefts and rights. Surfed with Futures EA Techflex fins. Board paddles really well, gets into waves early, seems pretty fast down the line and turns good. Need a few more sessions with some good waves but so far I prefer it to the original 6'1 HZ.

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Yeah I have surfed the Flexfire a few times. I just got a standard 6'4 Flexfire with the rounded square as it makes it a little bit usable on a variety for waves not just as a step up as it is a pretty refined board through the nose and tail. Going to be taking the Flexi, HZ2 and another PU board to Mentawai's in 5 weeks time hanging out to surf warm water in boardies and get away from all this cold water and howling on shores we have had the last week :)

I ordered a 5'10 (my standard shorty is 6'1), but now that I look at the sizings again, I am thinking I probably should have ordered the 5'11 or 6'0. I ordered it a few weeks back so memories hazy but am pretty sure I ordered this size as that's what the WA rep recommended. Is your HZ II the same size as your standard PU shorty or do ya go a few inches shorter for the HZ II model?

I was thinking of getting the rountail version of the FF as I've alway ridden roundtails as step-ups, probably wouldn't be using it in anything under 6ft, that said I would prefer a rounded square if the board still had plenty of hold of the bottom in big stuff. Find roundtails super reliable for big stuff, but would be nice to have the hold of a roundtail with the snapiness of a rounded square (if that makes sense!)

There is nothing worse than having to baby a bottom turn in juice because the board is too loose/skips out, which is why I am leaning towards roundtail version, but would be interested to know how you find ypur FF in big stuff, does it have plenty of hold on rail with the square tail version in 6ft plus?

Sorry to bombard you with all the Q's mate! Enjoy the ments, I hear ya about the cold, I have gone full softcock and wear a 4/3 in winter now (get a ton of shit from my mates about it of course).

I ordered the 6'1 HZ2 same volume as what i normally would ride, i had the ordinal HZ 6'1 which was also 29.1ltrs and stayed with the same size and volume, the PU is a 6'2 x 18 7/8 round tail and around 30ltrs.

Haven't had the Flexi in anything really big and should have probably gone the round tail version but it was brand new, at a bargain price and would only be used every now and then.

Wow the input here is great guys. It's hard to believe that there is a board made better than the original HZ. I have ridden mine in Hurricane swells both Victory at Sea conditions and super clean to Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica. I agree, with quads in it the HZ absolutely flys and as a thruster setup I don't really turn the board I just flick it. I am very intrigued by the response in this thread about the HZ2 being better. In Florida we don't get many barrel opportunities so when I travel I am a bit nervous in those conditions but the HZ is just so great in the barrel that I try and go where that's all it does! I would love to try the HZ2 on the same day with my HZ. It would be really cool to go and surf with someone who has one and trade off especially if we rode the same size board hint, hint Chris. I probably wouldn't buy one until mine breaks though unless I won the lottery, talk my wife into how happy she would make me if she bought me one, got drunk, watched a surf video of a guy killing it or...

haha i wish there were more demo days in waves good enough to ride both Hellrazors! they are both killer shapes, pretty similar. I actually feel if you like the HZ, the HZII is kind of a lengthened out HZ, but only slightly so. almost to the point where the HZII might be best for people that the HZ didn't quite fit...

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Further to my comment to Fazza, would appreciate any advice as to deciding on a new standard go to shorty for my quiver. My standard go to shorty I usually ride is 6'1 x 18 1/2 x 2 1/4, single to double, swallow tail (have always preferred swallow tails on my high performance shortboards) boxy rails (don't like thin rails). I usually prefer swallow tails as like to surf in the pocket, tight snaps ect as live in west oz so usually punchy hollow waves. The HZ seems like a good compromise as all the FW with swallows are more grovel/hybrid boards Are the rails on HZ models fairly boxy/not as thin as alternator rails? Am thinking 5'10 HZ II. I'm 5'8 and 73kg, aside from its lack of my preference for swallow tail would HZ be close to my standard shorty as described above or would a 5'10 Futura be closer to my shorty? I've got a 5'6 dom which I love for grovelling, and had a 5'10 jacknife but found the rails to thin and it surfed a little knifey/bogged rail a but when trying to bury it on big turns. I just got a 5'9 chubby chedda for next board up from my dom and so am thinking a HZ II or Futura for my go to shorty and then a 6'2 flexfire round tail as stepup. Waddya reckon! Apologies for bombarding the thread with so many questions, just that not much of a range of FW boards in shops here so can't see the actual boards before ordering so trying to get as much info as I can before I go ahead and buy. Thanks in advance.

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Horses for courses I guess. I really liked the refined rails on the JK. I would say the rails on the HZ1 look a little boxier but they must have some hardness somewhere (I'd check mine but it is all packed for a trip) as the hold on the rail feels about the same.